Foster
by Hanae Michiko
Summary: A story of Koushirou's parents' death from his point of view as a teeny little boy. SemiAU because I changed his age at the time of the accident. Warnings: A teeny bit of Jyoushirou, but it's just sweet. Shounenai at its lightest.


Notes:  Now, this is semi-AU because I'm pretty sure that Kou-chan's parents died while he was a baby, but I wanted to write a story about his parents' death from his point of view, so I had to bump up his age a bit…old enough to comprehend things, but young enough to lose his memory of the time, so as to find out about his adopted status later and forget ever having met Jyou.  ^_^;  Just…I know this story sorta strays from the original story of Koushirou's family life, but I took a little creative license just because I wanted to write a story with this plot.  I hope you'll forgive me. J

Oh, and, also, I don't know what children in Japan do in school in kindergarten… I just made the assumption that they learn how to read and write and do things like finger-painting like the rest of us. ^_^;  My apologies if I'm way off.

Warnings:  Shounen-ai of the purest variety ahead.  Sweet, but not love-y.

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything in this story except for the premise… I don't even own the plot, because the fact that Koushirou's parents died in a car accident and he was consequently adopted by a family cousin was _not_ my idea. ^.~  I don't pretend to own any of this, either.  So, nyah.

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Foster

By: Michiko

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            We were all sitting in a circle, painting pictures with finger paint.  I didn't like getting my hands all messy like the other kids did, but Shina-sensei said that if we were good boys and girls and listened to directions, then she would read us a story and we could skip learning hiragana for the day.  So I did the finger paints for the other kids who didn't want to learn hiragana.  I liked learning, but I think I was the only one.

            I was almost done with my painting of 'tou-san's computer when Shina-sensei pulled me to my feet and told me to follow another lady who she called Kohana-san.  Kohana-san took my hand and led me out of the classroom.  I heard the other kids saying, "Ja ne!" and I turned to call the same back to them.  When the classroom was out of sight, I looked up at Kohana-san.

            "I didn't finish my painting," I told her.  She looked down at me and smiled, but she didn't look very happy.  In fact, she looked rather sad.  Why was she so sad?  And if she was sad, why was she smiling?  I was confused, so I frowned.

            "You can finish it later," she said.  Her voice sounded funny, like she was cold.

            She took me into the office with all the ladies who answered the phones.

            "This is him," she said to a tall man with gray and black hair.  He was wearing a blue suit with a metal pin that all the detectives on those murder shows on TV wear.  I guessed he was a detective like them.

            The man looked down at me and smiled just like Kohana-san had.  These people weren't happy at all!  Why were they trying to pretend they were?

            "You're Koushirou?" he asked me in that voice old people always use when they talk to me.

            I nodded.  "Hai."

            "Hello Koushirou.  My name is Nakahana Ryo.  I work for the police.  You know who the police are, right?"

            I nodded again.  "Hai, Nakahana-san."

            "Good.  How old are you, Koushirou?"

            I looked at my hands for a second.

            "I'm four years old."

            This time, he frowned at me.

            "Koushirou, do you know what happens when people get in car crashes?"

            "They get really hurt," I answered, proud to know the answer to the police man's questions.  But why did he look so sad?  And why did he ask me that question?

            "Yes, Koushirou, that's right.  Do you know why you were sent to see me, Koushirou?"

            I shook my head.

            "Your parents were in a car crash today, Son."

            I thought about what he said, blinking.  I could tell all the phone ladies were looking at me.  They were probably sad just like Kohana-san and Nakahana-san.  It was very quiet, and I felt funny.

            "Did they get really hurt?" I asked, not sure I understood what Nakahana-san was telling me.

            "Yes, Koushirou.  They got really hurt."

            My eyes felt funny, but I still didn't think I understood.

            "Are they okay?"

            "We don't know yet.  Koushirou, we're going to send you home with a cousin of your father's, okay?"

            I nodded, and Kohana-san took my hand again.  She pulled me to another part of the office where a man was standing, holding a crying lady.  I'd seen them before.  They were probably the people who were going to take me home.

            "You can take him now," Kohana-san said to them.  The man and the lady pulled apart, and the lady looked down at me.  She reached down to pick me up and hugged me tightly.

            "Oh, Koushirou-chan.  We're so sorry."

            Why?  Why were they so sorry?  What did they do?  I didn't understand!

            "We're going to take you home," the man said.  I nodded, and they took me out to their car.  During the ride home, I fell asleep.

* * * * *

            When I woke up, I was in my bed.  I rubbed my face and scratched my head, forcing myself to stay awake.  I was still tired, but 'kaa-san and 'tou-san were probably better now -- since whenever I got a boo-boo, it only took a few seconds to make better -- and I wanted to see them.

            "'Kaa-san?" I called as I walked out of the room.  "'Tou-san?"

            I walked into the family room and saw my daddy's cousins on the couch.  They were crying again.

            "Where's 'kaa-san and 'tou-san?  Are they better yet?"

            The lady cried louder.

            "Koushirou-chan," the man said, "your 'kaa-san and 'tou-san are gone."

            "Oh," I said, looking down.  "When will they be back?"

            "Never, Koushirou-chan.  They've died."

            Died… I tried to remember what that meant.  I remembered back to old movies I'd watched with 'tou-san…one where a man got stabbed in the back and fell down and didn't wake up.  He was all blue.  I asked what had happened.  'Tou-san said the man died.  Died… Died was when they went to sleep and turned blue and never woke up.  Died meant they were never coming back.

            Suddenly I understood why everyone was so sad.  'Kaa-san and 'tou-san died.

            "They're never coming back?" my voice sounded weird, like Kohana-san's had when she said I could paint later, and my eyes felt funny again, like they had when Nakahana-san said my parents were hurt.

            "No, Koushirou-chan," he held out his arms to me.  "They're never coming back."

            I started to cry.  "I want 'kaa-san!"

            My daddy's cousins tried to hug me.  I pushed them away.

            "No, not you!  'Kaa-san!"

            I ran outside the apartment, and they tried to catch me, but I was too little for them.

            "'Kaa-san!!"

            I was crying like I had when I fell off my first bike and scraped my knee.

            "'Kaa-san!!"

            I ran to the park where I always sat on the swings with my mommy, but there were already kids on the swings, so I ran to a rock and hugged it like I would hug my mommy and cried.

            "'Kaa-san!!"

            My throat started to hurt, but my chest hurt more, so I kept crying.  I felt someone's hands on my shoulder, and then my face was against a soft fabric and not the rock.

            "Shh…" someone was saying.  "Shh, it's okay."

            I kept crying until my eyes were out of tears, and the whole time, whoever was hugging me kept saying, "Shh, it's okay."  I looked up to see a boy with blue hair and funny thick glasses frowning at me.

            "Are you okay?" he asked.

            I sniffled and wiped my nose on his shirt, which he didn't like very much, and shook my head.  He leaned forward and pressed his lips against my mouth much like 'kaa-san used to do to my cheek and pulled away with a "mwah" sound.  I wrinkled my nose.

            "What was that for?"

            That was something 'tou-san called a kiss.  He said that if someone cared about someone else, they would kiss.  I didn't understand why this boy had kissed me.

            He shrugged.  "It's what my 'kaa-san does to make me feel better, and it usually works.  I thought I'd try to make you feel better."

            His 'kaa-san… He still had his 'kaa-san.  I didn't.  My eyes started feeling funny again.  The other boy's eyes widened, and he frowned, and his forehead got all wrinkly like 'tou-san's would when he was worried.

            "Um…"

            He pulled me against him and hugged me.  Then he began moving back and forth, and I felt like I was in my old cradle.  I clutched the boy's shirt and buried my face in it like I used to do with 'kaa-san.  He didn't feel the same as 'kaa-san, but he still felt nice and warm.  I almost went to sleep again, but I heard someone calling my name.

            "Koushirou-chan, there you are!"

            Someone grabbed onto me and pulled me away from the blue-haired boy.

            "No!" I shouted, reaching out for the boy.  I still held onto his shirt.

            "Oh, Koushirou-chan, we were so worried!  We couldn't find you!  We thought we'd lost you!"

            "Koushirou…" the blue-haired boy said to himself.

            My daddy's cousins were squeezing me tightly, but I watched as the boy stood up and turned.

            "What's your name?" I asked before he could walk away.

            He turned around.  "Jyou."

            Jyou… I'd remember that.

* * * * *

            I woke up in my room.  The sun was setting.  I must have taken another nap.  I walked out of my room and into the family room and saw a man and a lady asleep on the couch.

            "'Kaa-san?  'Tou-san?"

            "It's just your cousins, Sweetie," the lady said as she sat up.  I crawled onto the couch with her.

            "I want a mommy and daddy."

            "I know."  She hugged me.

            "Who will take care of me?"

            "I was thinking we could."

            "And be my new mommy and daddy?"

            She took a deep breath, and my head moved up and down with her chest.

            "We could never replace your parents, Koushirou-chan.  What we can do is love you and take care of you like a mother and father should.  If that's what you want."

            "I…I think I'd like that."

            She squeezed me a little tighter.

            "Okay, Izumi Koushirou.  Welcome home."

~Owari~


End file.
